Madison Antiques Fair attracts top-drawer vendors

Phyllis A.S. Boros

Published 4:17 pm, Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The 42nd annual Madison Historical Society's Antiques Fair takes place Saturday, Aug. 24, rain or shine. It will feature an array of items, such as these historic flags, from about 75 exhibitors.
Photo: Contributed Photo

Going into its 42nd year, the Madison Historical Society's Antiques Fair has not only proved to be a major success, but has become the society's largest annual fundraiser.

Pamela Allen, MHS executive director, said last week that the fair was established in 1972 with the "goal of being the best antiques show in an outdoor venue" in the region.

And at this point, the society may very well have reached its goal, she added.

Produced by MHS Events Coordinator Beth Wardwell with the support of MHS volunteers, the show and sale will take place under tents on the Madison Town Green on Saturday, Aug. 24, rain or shine.

Scheduled to participate in this year's event are 70 to 75 exhibitors from New England, New York, the mid-Atlantic states and Florida. Offered for purchase will be a collection of goods, including American and European antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as vintage items from the mid-20th century.

In addition to shopping, fair-goers can have treasured personal items appraised by Jay St. Mark, a Connecticut-based antiques appraiser. The per item fee is $5.

Initiated last year, the service proved to be enormously popular, Allen said.

Visitors may carry into the fair up to three "portable items," or photographs of furniture may be considered for appraisal. Jewelry, however, is excluded.

Featured at the antiques fair, Allen said, will be American and European furniture, silver, porcelains, rugs, wicker, art prints, clocks, architectural-design furnishings, country collectibles, and 16th- to 19th-century maps of local, state and international interest.

Designer costume jewelry, antique jewelry, Oriental carpets, Colonial weaponry, country furniture in paint and original finish, vintage garden and patio furniture and accessories, book and vintage Connecticut milk bottles also will be on view.

Various historical periods will be represented by a selection of French furniture; Victorian and vintage cast and wrought iron; Colonial arms and accoutrements; mid-20th-century Modern furniture; and early Americana pieces and Victorian folk art.

Sidewalk cafes and local gourmet food trucks will be on hand, offering coffee and pastry to luncheon entrees.

The Madison Historical Society welcome booth, near the Church Entrance Gate, will provide information on Madison's rich past, she added. Across the street from the fair is the MHS' historical Lee's Academy, which now serves as the MHS administrative offices and its exhibition gallery at 14 Meetinghouse Lane.

On fair day, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the museum will be open and visitors may tour its newest show, "The Business of Leisure: Madison Welcomes Its Summer Colony." Admission is free; donations are welcome.

"We have our fingers crossed for a sunny day, which always brings out throngs," she said.

As the new director of the MHS, this will be Allen's first fair and she "absolutely" plans on doing some shopping. Her interest: furniture and jewelry.